


The Huntress

by Sintharius



Category: Warframe
Genre: Gen, Mentions of another warframe - guess who, Oh who am I kidding everybody knows who he is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2019-08-10 01:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16461020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sintharius/pseuds/Sintharius
Summary: In his absence, she will hunt.





	1. An old friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's still waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to --Q--Alchameth, of Quasars fame.

A Grineer ship appears in the horizon, carrying troops to a drop zone on the Plains.

The outpost has been terrorized by a warframe earlier during the day, annihilating all its troops in a bid to search for information on an Ostron prisoner they captured recently. High command was in a frenzy trying to divert troops from other areas to retake the territory, only to fail.

 _Something_ was shooting down their ships on entry, right out of hyperspace jump. And there was no warning at all – no projectile, nothing on radar to warn about the impact. Countless soldiers dead before they even see the enemy.

It did not stop them from trying, however. The Grineer are limitless – they can lose any many troops as they are willing to throw at the enemy.

And it was only a matter of time before the warframe found whatever it was looking for.

***

She saw it, through the scope of the sniper rifle in her hands. Another troop dropship jumping out of hyperspace and into the air, above the camp. She had long lost count of how many dropships she had shot down, while waiting for the Lotus to rummage her way through the computer systems.

_Steady hands. Follow the target._

The Grineer ship curves in the air as it heads to its destination, heedless of the crosshairs tracking it. Of its impending destruction.

_Concentrate on the target. Focus._

Her fingers rest calmly on the trigger as she waited.

A hunter waiting for its prey.

***

The weapon feels… strange. Out of place. The weight was not something she was used to, and peering through a scope to see enemies far away had always made her somewhat uncomfortable. There was no doubt it was powerful, though; the rifle was made to kill even the toughest of prey, punching through energy shields and metallic armor alike with ease.

Sniper rifles are not her thing – she’s more of a pistol girl. A gunslinger. She had always preferred to be out there in the thick of gunfire, rather than stalking her prey in the dark.

Yet there was a familiarity to the weapon, one that she will never forget. A long lost friend.

_You were always a better hunter than I was._

***

She pulls the trigger. The rifle jumps in her hands, its recoil kept in check by the warframe’s immense strength.

A bullet flies straight through the air, before tearing into the metallic hull of the dropship.

The Grineer pilot registers massive damage to the components, and called for help in panic-

-Before the ship explodes in a spectacular fireball of shrapnel and flesh. Bodies dropped from the air, mangled and burned flesh plummeting into the ground.

The warframe lowers her sniper rifle, satisfied with the carnage.

Another notch to her kills.

And more time for the Lotus to search their files.

***

Sometimes she misses him.

He had always been a big game hunter – the Eidolons that haunt the Plains at night were his favorite. A hunter stalking his prey from behind the scope of his sniper rifle, or charging into enemy lines blazing with rage, as he wreaked havoc on the enemy.

And he was gone.

She does not know where he went. Only that one day he disappeared, leaving behind a note saying he will come back – and his prized sniper rifle.

And she waits.

Until then, she will hunt. Let her hands guide his rifle to their enemies’ destruction.

_Let the hunt begin._

***

The Lotus’ voice pinging in her mind pulls her back to the present, having found the records of the Ostron trapper they have been tracking.

The warframe’s job here is done. The Grineer can take back the camp – they got what they needed.

Now it is time for a rescue.

She pings the Orbiter, and Ordis drops the Itzal down without pause. As she boosts into the bright sky, leaving behind a field of charred metal and dead bodies, she knew.

He would be proud. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come visit me at my Tumblr: https://sintharius.tumblr.com


	2. Through the fires and flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some days, she dreams of fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Lapis, Misan, Alexis, Pathos and Jakey.
> 
> You know who you are.

“You are a fire. As feared as you are respected.”

The Red Veil representative bows.

If warframes could smile, she would be. Instead, she settled for a bow in return.

Their words rang in her mind for hours after she had left the relay and returned to the Orbiter.

_A fire._

***

All living beings sleep, and warframes are not an exception.

In her dream, she burned.

Not the all-consuming, blazing fire that Ember wields.

Not the playful yet purifying fire Nezha leaves in his wake.

This was a low, steady burn – a fire that scorched enemy flesh with pure rage. Yet it embraced her with its heat, empowering her with vivid vitality.

And she missed it.

***

They were in a Grineer ship in orbit of Ceres, the Lotus having given the order to exterminate a squad of marines stationed there.

She remembered screaming. Armor riddled with bullets or molten from superheated plasma lay in pieces around the ship. The air saturated with the smell of burned flesh and blood.

When the last Grineer had fallen, they were prepared to head to extraction and call it a day – when she was suddenly seized with an idea. More out of curiosity than anything.

He tilted his head quizzically upon noticing her approach, but did not move from where he was standing. His hunter instincts do not regard her as an enemy, and he was not alarmed.

She reached out and touched the flames still dancing on the black scales of his armor, fully expecting to come away burned.

The fire was not something she expected. At all.

It was warm. Not the same blistering heat that consumed their enemies, but a gentle warmth that felt like a hearth on a cold day.

Like home.

She did not notice him looking at her. In confusion, then understanding as it dawned on him.

His hand gently wrapping around her own blazed hotter than any fire she has ever felt.

***

When she wakes up, it’s cold.

_It was all a dream. Memories, of a better time._

She blinks. There is no one else here – only herself, with only the ocean waves for company.

The Plains of Eidolon at night, without the Grineer ships and troops, is quiet. Eidolons notwithstanding.

She is lying on the grass in a small corner near the ocean. Cool breeze and salt upon her skin. Soft grass under her hands.

Once upon a time, it was their little secret. A corner of peace and quiet among the turbulence of the Solar System, away from the missions, the Lotus, other Tenno. When he was here and they were taking a break from hunts together.

The water, the grass, the sky – everything are still the same as the day they left together for the last time. But he is not here. Not anymore.

She is alone, with only her memories reminding her of what she has lost.

***

Her fingers tingles with his phantom touch, long after she has drifted back into sleep.

That night, she dreams of fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gallade u sux
> 
> Visit me at my Tumblr: https://sintharius.tumblr.com


	3. Something new, something old, something borrowed, something gold... or not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A blade is born from the strangest places.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Berry and Skull. :bolb:
> 
> Warning: Chimera Prologue spoilers abound!

_Something new_

“Cephalon Ordis has completed a blueprint. Check the Foundry!”

She stirs awake from her kneeling position at Ordis’ cheerful announcement, having lost track of time while meditating. She may be a Tenno of action, but meditation is always good to keep herself focused and sort out her mental problems.

_They used to meditate together, as disciple – and him the founder - of the Madurai focus._

_In restraint, there is power. Great power is most dangerous with a clear mind to guide it._

Her legs are not even numb - it could not have been that long since she started, a couple hours at most - as she stands up and makes her way to the Foundry. She had had longer meditation sessions before, with the other Tenno; a few hours were nothing.

A Galatine, brand new with its metallic sheen untainted by combat, sits in the finished product area. She reaches out and grips the handle, as Ordis happily chirps away in her ears. The blade, although new, is familiar - its prime cousin, polished to perfection, is proudly displayed in her Arsenal.

She tests the weight of the blade in her hands.

Perfect.

The weapon meet its end in the Foundry, only moments after its completion.

Ordis’ distressed protests at seeing it gone so soon fall on deaf ears.

***

_Something old_

The Eidolon Hydrolyst howls as it struggled futilely against the bonds of the Eidolon Lures, the machinery sucking in the energy of the great creature in its dying throes.

She only had a moment to admire the Sentient’s defeat, before the lures overload and explode in a shower of fragments and loot.

As her team converses on the content of their loot, she plucks an item from the remains of the lure.

The Eidolon Shard pulses in her hands, still tingles with warmth.

_It was rare that she was able to participate in one, having lost the drive to do so after he left._

To think that such a majestic predator, having taken the lives of two of her comrades, was reduced to a mere spirit and easily defeated by Tenno hunters. Now, its remains shall go to a better purpose.

She puts the shard into her inventory, and set to collect the rest of the loot.

***

_Something borrowed_

Her fingers ache.

She had been sitting for hours in the Orbiter’s personal quarters. Papers strewn all over the floor along with a datapad. Her fingers are covered in pencil dust.

Sketches, unfinished, of a greatsword.

_Hurry! Take this... the idea of it... it is the only way your war can end._

The datapad contains the specifications of the greatsword – the Paracesis, as Ballas called it. She can see the details, the materials, the stats of the blade clear as day in her mind – but when she reaches for a pen to write down the design for production in the Foundry, the knowledge eluded her.

Only by sketching down the little bits as they randomly surfaced from her memory, does she finally managed to get an outline – nowhere close to a working design, but better than the blank page it was originally.

Not for the first time, she wished he was here.

_The Tenno had quite a few enthusiastic weapon smiths in their heyday, children bringing their imaginary weapon ideas to life._

_He was often among them, creating weapons both beautiful and powerful for his hunts and the missions the Orokin sent them on._

_The same weapons that stuck down the Orokin as they begged for their lives._

She signs, before putting down the pencil. The _idea_ wasn’t coming easy to her – best to take a break and come back later.

\----------

Six missions of shooting Grineer and Corpus alike later, and she was no closer to figuring out the rest of the schematics.

Back in the Orbiter, she curls up on the tiny couch next to the Somachord and ignores the pile of papers in front of her. He would have gotten it done easily than her – greatswords were one of his specialty, anyway-

Wait.

 _His_ greatsword. Why hasn’t she thought of it?

Ordis sounds worried as she bolts up from where she was laid down on the couch, but she ignores him. She has a mission, and she is going to do it.

The Arsenal hisses as it deposits the Gram Prime into her waiting grasp. She runs a hand on the side of the blade, marvels at the intricacy of its design, the power concealed within it.

_A fitting weapon for a Sentient hunter._

And if Ballas was to be trusted, the Paracesis is designed to end the War – to cut down the Sentients.

She can use the blade’s framework to construct Ballas’ greatsword.

It would take quite some changes, but with a foundation to go off of, she is confident she can make it work.

With the Gram Prime in hand and renewed spirit, she sets off to work again.

\----------

She sets the finished design onto the surface of the Foundry, triumphant.

_It is done._

***

_Something gold_

Strata Relay is beautiful.

She’s not much of a social person, but she still needs to visit the relays from time to time. If only to turn in medallions to the syndicates, and assignments to Simaris - as much as she dislikes the Cephalon with no sense of personal space, he does offer useful gear to her journey.

And this.

The burning Ember statue stands regal in the concourse of the relay, its existence a testament to Steel Meridian’s strength. What she needs lies just beyond.

Baro Ki’teer’s ducat kiosk.

She cracks her knuckles, before reaching into her inventory for her prime parts. She will have to replenish her stock after this is done.

It’s going to be a long day.

***

_Or maybe not_

She does not understand why a weapon would require Orokin ducats to craft.

The Orokin certainly had better things to do than using a currency as crafting material, and vice versa. And she has better uses for those ducats than making them into a weapon.

Or not.

If the weapon currently being constructed in the Foundry is any indication.

Perhaps Ballas wanted to hold on to his Orokin roots and insisted that the blade be made from ducats, like the rich bastard he was? Or was the metal the ducats were made from has some special property that makes it desirable for the blade?

Either way, she does not know.

All she knows is the weapon is currently being forged and will be ready to strike down Sentients.

Soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rivens were a mistake. -queckquack, 2018
> 
> (no u)
> 
> Visit me at my Tumblr! https://sintharius.tumblr.com


	4. Rancor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She faces a ghost of her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rancor (n.): bitter deep-seated ill will (Merriam-Webster)
> 
> For --Q--Yzug, because he's a nice Q. :v

Eris.

Once a colony, now reduced to a nest of Infestation.

_And the place of her worst nightmare._

Her fingers curled up into fists unconsciously. She is not under his control, not anymore.

The Lotus knows, and had tried to stop her from going. But she has insisted she be allowed to go, as part of their daily sortie – and as a way to face her fear.

***

He was just worried.

She knows, of course – he had never had anything to fear, being a proud and powerful hunter roaming on his own. Except for his own return; there was something mysterious in the event of his return that had all the Tenno keeping their metaphorical mouths shut.

And she doesn’t ask. It’s not something she cares about.

_Are you going to be alright?_

A question on his fingers.

She found herself focused on his hands. Rough hunter hands tamed with precision work.

_The Orokin did not have sign language – their people were perfection personified, and the Lorists took care of any injuries without complications._

_When the dreaming children within the warframes carved out their own culture, the lack of a sign language became a problem when your bodies are incapable of speech._

_And so they created their own, words and sentences brought to life with the hands of the warframes. Emotions and thoughts, free from the ever watching gaze of their Orokin wardens._

_The tradition lived with them even after they slaughtered the Orokin, and escaped into cryosleep. And even after the Lotus woke them from the Second Dream._

His touch on her hands startled her from the stream of thought. She must have dozed off.

 _Are you going to be alright?_ He repeated the question with his hands.

She shrugged. _I will be._

_Anger is a powerful thing. Take care to not let it cloud your judgement._

She did not plan to restrain her anger for the bastard that enslaved her, but she was not going to let him know that. _Don’t worry about it._

Warframes don’t have eyes the conventional way living creatures do, but the tilt of his head and the slope of his shoulders gave her the impression that he was rolling his eyes at her. _If you say so._

She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.

And her own problems are nobody’s business but hers.

***

"Tenno, Tenno... Why must you always work against- progress? I'm trying to bring us all together. Things could have been different if you tried to work wi- with me."

Her skin crawls upon hearing him, even as she dives past the approaching Infested.

Those days of being his slave were long behind her, but she still sometimes had nightmares.

Of the hive mind whispering within her head all the time.

Of losing her body, her free will.

Of being forced to fight her fellow Tenno – fight _him_ – for an enemy she despises.

A nauseous crawler touches her boot, and she kicks it away out of disgust.

***

Anger is not strange to her, nor her fellow Tenno.

The children of Zariman Ten-Zero, overcame with confusion and anger at their new uncontrollable powers, thrashed within their flesh bodies and unleashing the powers at anyone that approached them.

Margulis tried to help them. To control their emotions, within the space of the dream.

And it seemed that she had succeeded, only for the Orokin to murder her and gave them tools – the warframes - to channel that rage. All for the purpose of fighting their enemy; they needed soldiers, not children throwing tantrums.

It was also the end of them. Orokin after Orokin falling to Tenno blades and guns, fueled by years of rage simmering under the surface.

Anger is a potent weapon, indeed.

***

Now, she has taught herself how to restrain her anger, only unleashing them into hapless victims on the other end of her Regulators.

But the voice of Mutalist Alad V created pure _hatred_ within her. And she wants payback.

For everything he took from her.

For her body, her mind.

For poor Valkyr.

For all the innocent lives he took with his Infestation.

There will be no peace tonight with her Peacemaker.

Only vengeance.

***

Coming face to face with Mutalist Alad V, deep within the bowels of the infested ship, is harder than she thought.

“Ah, my dear. Have you come to return to the Empire?”

Her fingers curled into fists.

Alad V is only a shadow of himself, only fit to be a mouthpiece for the hive mind. Dancing on Infested strings even as he babbled about his dreams of “the Mutalist Empire”.

Pathetic.

Nothing can make up for the time she was tortured and used by him against her beloved Tenno. Killing him will have to do. Only just.

She inhales, then exhales. The Regulators flips into her hands, barrels fusing seamlessly with her fingers as her thumbs slot into the hammer space.

Her focus narrows down to him, and him alone.

Alad V shrieked as the first volley of bullets from her guns pinged against his armor.

Only one of them is walking out of this.

And it’s damn well not going to be him.

***

It felt like an eternity had passed, even though her rational mind told her it was only a few minutes. She forcibly reins in the anger boiling within her, even as she looks down.

Mutalist Alad V is lying on the ground, bleeding out from the many bullet holes that lined his armor. The collar had long been shattered, having been thrown to try and cage her in as his slave once more.

Instead, she had caught it and snapped the thing in half with inhuman strength. The object was his tool to torture and enslave her - she will not let it get an inch on her. Ever again. And only by breaking it with her hands will she be reassured that the cursed thing is  _gone_.

The disbelieving shriek Alad V let out was _satisfying_.

After that, it was just a matter of time for him to go down – having lost his best tool.

A whimper caught her attention. He is still alive, if barely. Wide eyes in shock staring at her, a silent beg for mercy. A quick death to release him from torment.

For a moment she was overwhelmed with the desire to shoot him. Kill him right there, for what he did to her and the others. Blood for blood.

…But no. Cold rationality won over blind rage.

The Infestation was obviously causing him pain and manipulating his thoughts. Death, for him, would be too merciful. And she is not in the mood for mercy.

Alad V tries to grasp at her boot when he realized she had no intention of giving him the death he wanted. She sidesteps it.

He would be left to rot, wailing in his torment until death finally claims him.

She grabbed the infested rifle lying on the floor as she left, leaving behind her a dying broken shell of a former Corpus researcher. It would make a good addition to her arsenal.

_Revenge is a dish best served cold._

***

She finds him in their clan dojo. The sounds of soft rustling of the leaves and flowing water was a balm on her mind, exhausted from her rage against Mutalist Alad V.

He was kneeling under the shade of a tree, quiet and unmoving as he was deep in meditation.

It was so peaceful.

The moment she kneels down in front of him, he stirs. Not a startle in the way a hunter detecting a threat might, but of someone waking up from sleep.

She was expecting him to ask about her mission, but he did not. Instead he holds out his hand, and she takes it – but she found herself being pulled into an embrace.

What remained of her anger fizzled away as she quietly relaxes in his arms.

Perhaps he knew it would not stop her. To let her unleash her rage on the ghost that haunted her, so she can finally move on and not be burdened by emotional baggage anymore. To cast off her shackles and let her finally be free. One last outburst of rage before it is reined in by cold rationality, to create something more powerful than just anger alone.

And she is here, triumphant and her ghosts laid to rest. Something more than her rage.

_Hatred must be tempered by discipline._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gallade: I have better boobs than you  
> boobs  
> damnit
> 
>  
> 
> LOOK BROTHERS TITS HAHAHAHAHAHA
> 
> (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhFrql0HyHs)
> 
> Visit me on Tumblr! https://sintharius.tumblr.com


	5. Heart of Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes she wished that she could feel something. Anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bip, Halvkyrie, this is for you. <3

It’s cold.

Her fingertips tingled with the chill, and she can see the frost forming over her body.

The Orb Vallis’ weather is brutally cold, mixed with brief moments of warm that eventually got overtaken by the cold again before resurfacing. But she never feel the worst of it, just a pleasant tingle.

***

Warframes, for the most part, lacked physical feelings.

There was no feelings of cold, heat, pain, or anything much at all. Just a constant numb.

Part of her understands that the Orokin did not wish to have unnecessary discomfort distracting the warframes from their missions. That they are meant to fight until they cannot move any longer, unburdened by minor inconveniences.

And with the amount of injuries they sustain on a daily basis, she was glad for that.

But sometimes she wished that she was able to feel something. Anything.

She’s not all machine; there is still a human soul within the confines of said body, yearning for human contact.

***

Frost was one of the first warframes she met, after her reawakening. The personification of the winter chill, Frost dominates the battlefield with his command over ice and frost.

Surfaces and enemies alike turned to solid ice under his touch, frozen bodies shattering into pieces. Globes of ice shielding fellow Tenno from gunfire. Waves of sharp ice and avalanches breaking apart armies.

And yet, she never truly felt the cold whenever Frost was around. Even within the confines of a Snow Globe, with winds and snow hissing within the icy walls. The most was a slight tingle of cold, enough to tell her that she’s in a cold environment.

She wondered if she could even feel, anymore.

***

A few months later, she was accompanying him for a sabotage mission.

She could see the bombard rocket heading straight for her; her Shatter Shield chose that moment to expire, the protective energy field falling away and leave her unprotected. And she could not summon the energy to recast it.

Resigned, she braced herself for impact.

The rocket flew, relentless in its path-

And exploded as it collided with him. The warframe staggered back from the force of the blast, though he stayed upright on his feet.

He had somehow gotten between her and the rocket that was meant to be her doom.

She could feel a small gasp escaping her, even as she ran towards him to check if he’s okay-

…It was at that moment when she was next to him, that she felt _something_.

A soft, gentle cold bit into her skin. Not at all painful, but more like cold water during a hot summer.

There’s frost on him; white over the black scales of his armor. Flakes drifted off his body and settled on her skin, shielding her with its touch.

_Frost was not the only one with powers over ice, it seems._

She flinched as he blew a stream of chilled air in her face, leaving behind tiny frozen shards on her skin. Was she that distracted to not notice him recovering and now standing in front of her?

_What was that for?_

The other warframe tilted his head in a way that indicated amusement. _Are you worried about me? I am fine._ She found her eyes following the slope of his armor as he moved, shoulders rolling in a smooth motion. _See?_

_You got hit by a bombard rocket. Point blank._

His clawed hands closed over her own hands – he’s asking her to be quiet. _Better me than you. I can take it. You can’t._

And he pulled her into a hug.

Relief flooded her mind, and the gentle chill on her skin soothed her worries. _He’s fine, they’re fine, everything is over-_

She closed her eyes and relaxed.

There was only one thing she was not sure about. Whether it was actually cold or just something her mind made up out of sheer desperation for feelings.

Only one way to find out.

She would just have to make more excuses to accompany him on missions more often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visit me at my Tumblr: https://sintharius.tumblr.com


	6. harvest of screams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The Lotus, barking at you. Always so calm. Always in control. She doesn't care about you Tenno. She doesn't love you. Not like I loved the tubemen you murdered." -Tyl Regor
> 
> She faced revelations that changed everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEAVY SPOILER WARNING FOR POST-THE SACRIFICE CONTENT!

Reports of a new sentient enemy terrorizing the gas city on Jupiter were blasting on Tenno communication channels. Recon showed Corpus forces within the city not at all responding to the threat – instead they fled whenever the sentient opened fire on the city walls.

A sentient roaming free in Alad V’s beloved city, with no response from its owner? Suspicious indeed.

She resolved to investigate. Alad V may have been freed from the Infestation, but that does not mean he is trustworthy. If he is up to no good, she will be the one to end his scheme – again.

***

The Liset touched down in a corner of the gas city.

She jumped onto the walkway – the metal is still relatively new and pristine. This section of the city must have been recently rebuilt, likely because of the damage the sentient is inflicting upon the city. If the layout of the city has been changed considerably… there’s only one way to find out.

She drew her trusty sniper rifle from her back, before heading into enemy territory.

_You and I, hunting sentients together. Just like old times, eh?_

***

Her comms crackled to life when she was a short way into the gas city.

Briefly she wondered if it was another Tenno contacting her, or Alad V realizing she was here and decided to taunt her. But the voice that she heard made her froze.

 

“ _Our history is smoke. Blurred by dreams, guided by ghosts._

_A Voice, a Void, lurks inside you, its purpose not yet shown._

_But what am I?_ ”

 

Lotus _-_ No _… Natah_ had tapped into her comms, and was speaking directly to her.

 

What is _she_ doing here? Does Natah have anything to do with the sentient she was sent to take care of?

 

“ _My father was a farmer. My mother, a carpenter. Given light by the Golden Lords to build for them… a better world._ ”

She knew of the sentients’ history. Their origin as workers for the Orokin – much like what the Grineer were, before they became the superpower they are today – and their rebellion against their creators. The war, ended by the children of the ship lost in the Void. Them turning their blades and guns upon their lords.

The Lotus, hiding them within Lua and the Void. Like a clam hiding its pearl.

But now… the Lotus is gone. Their surrogate mother, replaced by a sentient bearing her twisted visage.

 

“ _…And after, I was born. A mimic, a spy. Conceived to burrow into nests and swallow the pitch-eggs of their war machine. The Tenno._

_But when I saw your tender faces, I took mercy._

_Or so we were told._ ”

 

Was what Teshin said about Natah being barren and wanting her own children a lie, to conceal the illusion of the Orokin’s brainwashing to the Tenno?

Or did he not understand Natah as much as he thought?

 

“ _But in truth, we were both imprisoned within Lua’s belly._

_My light remade by the creators._

_I became a memory, a ghost. Reprogrammed to destroy my family, my people, my history._ ”

 

The Lotus- _their mother-_ was not real. Only a visage of a sentient spy, captured and forged into a replacement for Margulis. To take care of the Void demons that her kind had ordered her to destroy them.

 

She stopped in a small utility room, filled with lockers and various knickknacks the Corpus seemed to pass for tools, before curling up in a corner away from prying eyes.

And let her silent tears fall.

 

It was then that her memories of Ballas – that cursed Orokin executor, now an Orokin-Sentient hybrid – chose that moment to resurface.

And she hated how he was right about Natah.

- _Such is her power over me. Over the devil! We saw what we wanted, those devils and I. A lover… a mother!_

Margulis.

Her shape, her touch, her love to Ballas and the Tenno – Natah used it all. They were nothing but her tool, to be used in the pursuit of destroying the Orokin Empire. And they were so blinded by love for the one whose visage she bore, that they never saw the poison seeping into their hearts.

_But now I know. She is neither. She is a hawk- calling with a sparrow’s song…_

She was never here for them – she was to destroy the Orokin Empire. Slowly choking the life out of them from within, until there is nothing but ashes.

_A viper, blending into wood. And her venom, spreads not into flesh… but into your heart-_

Taking the children under her wing, because she wanted children of her own? Protecting them from the wrath of the Grineer, the Corpus, even her own family?

None of it was of her own desire. Only her own duty to deceive them for the good of her people.

_-And the Lotus, just some cloud in the sky, just some shape they imagined._

_Only the Sentient is real. Only… Natah._

It was… all a lie.

A lie they all believed, and was now falling apart on them.

 

Ballas paid for it with his empire, his body and his freedom.

What price would the Tenno pay, once this is all over?

***

Natah rambled on, completely unaware of her former child agonizing on the other side of the link.

Her freedom granted to her by Ballas-

Her plans to overcome her people’s weakness by creating a new sentient breed-

Wait.

If she was to create these… Amalgams…, she would need help. From someone who has the resources and knowledge of technology in the Solar System to hybridize them with Sentient tech.

_Alad V._

The Corpus bastard is smart and knows his way around technology, she’ll have to give him that. After his fall from grace and the Infestation, he would be desperately searching for a way to earn back his wealth and his position on the Corpus Board.

Alad would not be able to resist the lure of new Sentient technology, and the promise of wealth in the same way the Zanuka Project was. A perfect target for Natah’s project.

Her mind, having slowed to a crawl by Natah’s revelations, was now speeding up again. Everything suddenly made sense now.

She knew too well that Alad would try and backstab them the moment it became favorable for him to do so. A failsafe was needed, and threatening his home base would be the easiest way to keep him under her thumb. And thus, the sentient currently destroying the gas city.

No wonder why Alad V’s personal army hasn’t been responding to the sentient’s attacks. He can’t risk pissing off his client by killing the lackey she sent to monitor him – she was not sure how much autonomy Alad had working for Natah, and she didn’t care.

If Natah was indeed commissioning Alad V to create a new breed of sentients that can threaten the Solar System, then she will have to take them down.

It was the only thing that mattered.

 

She pulled herself up to her feet and dusted off her clothes. The sniper rifle’s weight is heavy in her hands.

The Lotus is gone. Natah is an enemy they will have to face one day.

She had a job to do. And when that day arrived… she will be looking at her through the scope of her dear friend’s prized gun.

Let the Sentient know the pain of being betrayed by her own children.

***

Alad V started taunting her the moment she stepped foot on the elevator.

“Tenno: relics of a bygone era. My Amalgams are the new paradigm.”

Strong winds whipped her face as she walked out to the platform.

She ran a quick mental assessment of her battleground.

Three conduits, one in front of her, two to each side, all connected by wires that looked sturdy enough to climb on – or so she hoped. They looked similar to the things that recon squads have reported as power conduits running the gas city.

Above the platform was something that appeared to be a giant cannon with enough firepower to level a city – and she wondered if the panel on the platform had something to do with it.

And-

A giant _flying sentient_.

If she were to make a comparison, it would look like the love child of an eidolon and a condroc.

The thing- whatever it is- is massive, and yet somehow it glided in the air gracefully using its bonelike wings. It let out a massive roar as it spotted her on the platform, and if she wasn’t a warframe she would be deaf.

She took fighting stance as her energy shield enveloped her, and-

Red light almost blinded her – it was only luck that she was looking at it under the rim of her hat. Her shield flickered, then fell. She was exposed.

“As you can see Betrayer, I’ve made a deal with an even higher power!” She scoffed. Of course it is Natah. “Ah but when it comes to this turgid monster, there is some… liquidity, in my loyalty…”

So she was right. Alad V was probably going to try and make the Amalgams into his own pet army, if she were to hazard a guess. That wouldn’t sit well with Natah, who wanted the Amalgams to be an evolution of the Sentients and not a madman’s personal soldiers.

No surprise he wants it gone.

Her feet lit up with red, and she barreled out of the way just in time for two energy beams to cut through where she was a split second before. She drew her Pyrana Prime – Limbo had been kind to lend her his sidearm, although she had to distract his attention off her mission – took aim, and fired at the sentient as it swooped low over her head.

The bullets bounced off the flying sentient’s body.

Not a single scratch.

She sighed mentally. If this thing is as tough as the Eidolons on the Plains, she would need a lot more firepower. But how?

…It was then that Alad V decided to pipe up. “See. The capacitors are dry. You’d need a concentrated energy stream to charge it again.”

What?

The sentient chose that moment to target her, and she bullet jumped away when her feet lit up red. Two energy beams sliced through the empty spot, leaving behind the smoke of burned metal-

Right. She can use the sentient’s own weapon to charge Alad V’s capacitor… though she’s not sure what the bastard wanted with it.

She ran over to the ledge and hopped on the wire – it held. As she ninja ran along the wire to reach the capacitor, the sentient landed on the platform and charged the wire with some kind of traveling static. She jumped onto the other side and scoffed as the sentient flew away, having failed to knock her off the wire-

-Only to see it circle down and got ready to fire. She ducked behind the capacitor, and the mechanism took the beam’s full power. It turned purple and pulsed with energy.

“There’s enough juice in that capacitor to flash-fry a city – but no way to bring it to the beast. I wonder… hmm, could you bring the beast… to it?”

…As much as she wanted to deny it, Alad V was right. If the capacitor can hold enough energy to power the gas city, she could use that energy somehow to fry the sentient alive. How would she get the sentient to the capacitor though…

The sentient fired again. One beam singed her leg as she failed to dodge in time, making her collapse as her footing was knocked out from her. Damn! The beam must have severed the nerve connection somehow, as she found herself unable to move the leg.

Seeing an easy prey, the sentient swooped down. Its talons ready to grab her and send her to oblivion.

And she was helpless.

_Damnit!_

***

She could only watch the sentient as it approached closer, ready to blast her-

-And saw a blast of void energy collided with its side, sending the creature reeling.

 

“ _Your great power. Your great evil_.” Natah again. She wished there was a way to sever the connection and silence the sentient’s voice. “ _The Voice, the Void, within you. Our ancients still reel at its touch… but have you forgotten Lua? You were saved. But I… I was changed_.”

Natah was imprisoned within the Chamber of the Lotus, for years on end while Lua floated through the Void. What have the Orokin done?

 

The angered sentient screeched at its assailant, even as they dived towards her. She saw the telltale red of charging energy beam aimed at her, and resigned herself to her fate-

-Only to find herself far away from the danger zone, being bridal carried in the arms of her savior no less. They sailed through the air and landed not far away from the spot.

She was confused and disoriented. Her hat was obscuring her vision of her savior, and the pain from her wounded leg were not helping.

_Who were they? Why were they helping her?_

 

Until she looked up and saw the other. Another warframe, their curved armor lined with familiar black and red scales.

 _It’s him_.

After so long without him at her side, he finally came back. And his first act was to save her from her doom.

She reached out with her hand – the one not trapped between them – and lightly touched the side of his head. He leaned gently into her hand, before setting her down on the ground and started to inspect the wound on her leg.

 _You are hurt._ He didn’t sign, but she understood him anyway. Just another day of them taking care of each other.

Now that she had stopped trying to move the injury, the pain had lessened. It appeared that the sentient’s energy beam had cut through the scales of her armor – not that it helped much – and injured the nerve within, briefly paralyzing her leg. She could rejoin combat once first aid is done; it should last long enough to let her finish the fight and return to the clan dojo.

Trinity is going to be so mad about this.

She takes his hand to get his attention, her slender fingers setting over his claws. _I will be fine, just need some minor treatment._ She did not mention that the injury will need to be tended to further once the battle was over; he was already worrying over her as it was.

More screeching noise reminded them about their angry opponent. The sentient was going to return, and they need to do it fast before the thing jumps two helpless warframes.

For a moment, he was silent. Then the other warframe stood up, his frame majestic and powerful in the setting sun over the gas city. _Take your time._

She started working to patch up her wound, as he dived back into the fray and diverted the sentient’s attention away.

***

The fight raged on.

She quietly watched him dealing with the sentient as she waited for her wound to seal up. Now and then an amalgam wandered its way over to her, seeing an easy target – a few Pyrana Prime shots easily silenced them.

Alad V chittered on about the sentient being untouchable with its shield – no wonder why his troops haven’t managed to remove the thing from the city, they literally could not do anything to it – but it did not matter. Her companion had managed to down the shield of the sentient; apparently it has the same vulnerability as the one on the Eidolons of being deathly allergic to void powers, given its sentient origin.

( _she wished she had paid more attention on the brief glimpses of him, the real him – his Tenno figure instead of the imposing warframe he is always in_ )

Without its shield, the sentient was now vulnerable to attacks. Now to get it to the charged capacitor-

He was jumping towards the sentient, grabbing a hand hold and started scaling towards its head. It thrashed as he gripped one of its horns and pulled, forcing it to fly towards a capacitor.

“Yes! Make that thing sizzle. I want to smell it all the way down here in the control center.” She scoffed. Of course the foxy bastard would be happy to help them just to cover his own ass.

The sentient, angered at the warframe pulling on its head, tumbled and rammed face first into the charged capacitor.

She could feel the residue energy sweeping over her as the massive energy blast fried the sentient alive. The conduit, having violently expelled all of its power, crumbled and disappeared into the gas clouds.

The sentient plummeted onto the platform. The other warframe - having jumped off moments before the sentient collided - landed on his feet back at the platform, his Repala Syandana fluttering in the wind. Triumpant.

“Aim true, Betrayer! You’ve got it on the ground now! Hit it down… Set it up!”

The massive surge of energy had stunned the monster. But with its body being resistant to their weapons, what could he do?

 

The other warframe quickly dashed over to the panel on the platform and pressed something on it. Doesn’t hurt to try and see what it did; maybe it would be useful.

The giant cannon over the platform fired. The sentient managed to take flight a brief moment before a massive purple beam of energy cut through where it was just a moment before. The air was saturated with the smell of burning metal.

Alad V was muttering something about the gun being useless with so little aim, despite its power.

…If the gun lacked aim, then they will have to somehow force the sentient to stop moving. No aim needed.

But how?

 

The sharp bark of a sniper rifle cut through her stream of thoughts.

Next thing she knew was the sentient screeched as Alad’s gun bathed it in a burst of destruction.

It dawned on her: the synovia on its head were its only weak spots. By breaking the synovia, her companion was able to cause it enough pain to stop its movements… long enough to roast it with the platform cannon.

She could hear Alad expressing astonishment over her companion’s quick thinking, and Natah’s emotionless orders to the sentient – the _Ropalolyst_ – to rise and return to the fight.

They had finally found a way to defeat the sentient.

And she was going to join him in it.

***

The Ropalolyst screamed in the purple light of the cannon, before erupting in a field of fire.

They ran to higher ground as the platform imploded behind them, amalgams and battalysts consumed in flames.

When the explosion stopped, they looked down from their vantage point. Alad V’s sentient overseer, dead. Natah voicing her desire to see their judgement, for it has only just begun.

The two warframes slumped down next to each other, as she signaled Ordis for extraction. She leaned against him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, taking comfort in their familiarity together.

She was exhausted. But most of all, she was angry.

Natah deceived them all, hated the children she was forced to be a mother to.

Now, she only wanted them to suffer. For their sins against her people.

There is a new war on the horizon – it was only a matter of time.

A light tap on her arm pulled her attention back to her companion, who was signing something to her.

_How are you feeling?_

Always the mother hen. She couldn’t fault him for it either when she was the one who got injured in the last fight.

_Like I just rode a sentient._

He made a vague noise that can be described as a strangled laugh. _I missed you. It’s been a long time, I know… I’m sorry._

 _I miss you too, my knight in shining armor._ She tapped her finger on his head, vaguely where his nose would be. He leaned his head against the rim of her hat, and she returned the gesture.  _Got yourself a new sniper? I still have yours._

 _When I came back to the dojo, you were already on your way here. I asked, and Ash told me where you went - and gave me his own sniper. You can keep mine. It suits you._ Here, close to him, she recognized the sniper rifle holstered on his back. The Vectis Prime, Ash's prized gun.

_Just... don't leave me again. Okay?_

_I will try, but duty is important._

_That is good enough. If you do have to go, at least stay in touch._

_Will do._

***

Even with the battle over, she could not help but replay what Natah said. Over and over in her head.

 

“ _I was changed._

_Now I learn._

_Now I deny._ ”

 

“ _We suffer these testaments of Tenno evil._

_Their Voice and Void._

_Suffer well, ancient child._

_Do not relent._ ”

 

“ _So it is. So you have done._

_Time and time again._

_Eradicating my people, my history._

_So it will be with yours, child._ ”

 

 _Did you know that she hated us? The Orokin made her our mother. She never wanted it._ She wanted to laugh. All this time… And it hurt. To know that your mentor, your guide, your mother figure… was all a lie. Even after seeing her true form taking Ballas’ body away, she still could not believe that their beloved Lotus suddenly switched side.

It all made sense now.

Her companion quietly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and pulled her close.

 _I know. She talked to me too._ She sighed, and burrowed closer. He was solid and warm… and _real_ to her touch. After all the revelations she went through today, he was the grounding rock that she sorely needed. _With how Alad V is creating a new breed of Sentients, I think we are looking at a new war._

_Will you stand with me, when it is time to face her?_

_I will. You have my word._

 

And she is going to follow up on that promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The event's most important part for me was the considerable lore expansion - which changed everything we knew about the Lotus.
> 
> All abroad the Lotus hate train!

**Author's Note:**

> Visit me on Tumblr: https://sintharius.tumblr.com


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